1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to fabricating a magnetic head with uniform magnetic properties, and more particularly to forming an amorphous separation layer between a main pole and a shield layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a write head may consist of a high-moment magnetic core, a shield, and a gap layer located in between the core and shield. Suitable gap layer materials include rhodium (Rh), ruthenium (Ru), iridium (Ir), and platinum (Pt), and/or other platinum metals which are corrosion resistant and have atomic numbers that vary from those of transition metals (e.g., Co and Fe). However, these materials by themselves often have poor adhesion due to chemical inertness. Accordingly, a seed layer may first be deposited to improve adhesion of the primary gap material; however, the selection of an appropriate seed material affects not only the deposited gap layer, but also the downstream fabrication steps.
In some write heads, a top shield is deposited near the gap layer. Potential negative effects between the seed layer and the top shield may change the magnetization behavior of the top shield so that the main pole write field may be unable to predictably write data to a magnetic disk in a disk drive. This negative effect is especially harmful when it is unaccounted for when designed the write head. Accordingly, a write head may be designed to mitigate any negative affects between the materials of the gap and seed layers and the underlying layers.